Point Pleasant River Museum has Grand Opening

POINT PLEASANT, W.Va.—The Point Pleasant River Museum and Lakin Ray Cook Learning Center celebrated the grand opening of its new building August 31, as part of the city’s annual Tribute to the River Festival.

James McCormick, the museum’s executive director, said the museum had its soft opening about a year ago during the city’s Mothman Festival, which draws thousands of people downtown annually.

“We did really well that weekend, and we just stayed open,” McCormick said.

The new building replaces one down the street that burned on July 1, 2018. Most of the artifacts and other materials were rescued from the old building and restored.

After the fire, museum officials wanted to raze the old building and erect a new one on the same spot near the mouth of the Kanawha River, but preservationists insisted that the building be saved. Eventually, that building was sold, and the new one was built a few blocks away in the downtown commercial district. During that process, Jack Fowler, the museum’s longtime executive director who is credited with making it the success it was, died. A painting of Fowler now hangs in the new museum’s lobby.

The old building was more than a storehouse of artifacts. With its towboat simulator and other equipment, it was also a training center for boat personnel to become certified as pilots and radar operators. The new museum has two simulators, so prospective pilots can train there, while visitors also have the opportunity to see how things look from the wheelhouse.

Erecting the new building was a $3 million project, with about $1.7 million coming from the insurance settlement from the fire. The remainder came from donations.

The museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

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Photo caption: A visitor to the Point Pleasant River Museum and Lakin Ray Cook Learning Center views models of sternwheel and diesel towboats. (Photo by Jim Ross)